What do you know about cruising to Alaska by ferry? Pros and/or cons. . .?

There's been some good articles and it's something I'd like to do as well.
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.html

I liked the idea of a ferry to Skagway, White Pass railroad to Whitehorse (I think) then drive to the Beaufort Sea, just because you can
http://www.wpyr.com/

It's cheaper, you can hop on/off & make stayovers etc but not as luxurious as a cruise ship.

Good luck..

We took a couple of ferries when we were in Alaska a few years ago and really enjoyed them. On the overnight trip, our cabin was extremely basic, but adequate. The naturalists on board gave several interesting talks each day, and the captain would change direction or slow down when wildlife were sighted. The food was much better than we expected.

I just rode the Alaska ferry on 4 legs between Juneau, Skagway, Haines, and back to Juneau in the past two weeks. That particular ferry (the Malaspina) is a day-trip ferry so they don't rent cabins. You can either drive your vehicle on and off or you walk on and off if your are not traveling with a vehicle.

The inside passage was glass-smooth and, as someone else said, the food was better than I had expected, the naturalist was informative, and the scenery was spectacular.

There are a variety of places to ride. The forward observation lounge provides the best view from inside and there is also a recliner lounge area as well as tables in the bar a cafeteria. In addition, on the bridge and boat decks, the outside decks are available to passengers and and at the rear of the ship, there is both a covered solarium and an open deck space for chairs and plastic lounges.

Along the way, we saw a pod or Orcas fairly close, a pod or humpback whales from a distance, and several groups of porpoise.

I enjoyed it a lot.

We traveled on the Columbia from Bellingham Washington to Skagway where we departed for two nights and then drove to Anchorage. Friends had tried to convince us to camp on the deck or just use the deck chairs but that is so popular you have to rush to get a spot plus bring your own duct tape if you plan to use a tent. The Columbia had a dining room plus the cafeteria and we much preferred th cafeteria. There were three of us so we rented a cabin. It was very small but the bathroom although tiny was well done. The bad part about a 4 person cabin is that there isn't any place to sit due to the bunks. We had bag chairs with us and just enough room to use those. A 2 person cabin would be fine. But this was back in 2001 and it was the Columbia's first trip after being re-done so it had been underbooked (they had been using a smaller ship for that route). There was plenty of place to sit around the ship and yes, the forward lounge and the naturalist was a highlight. You have to understand that this is not a cruise ship but a commuting vehicle for many people. There are public showers/bathrooms for those who don't have cabins. If you'd like to be around people who live in Alaska, it's a great way to go. If you need amenities, it's probably not a good choice. The Columbia is much smaller than cruise ships so it goes up the Inside Passage in some tight areas the cruise ships can't go. We got off when we could but in one town everything was pretty much closed up because it was sunday. If we hadn't been aiming to get to Anchorage ASAP, it would have been nicer to spend more time in places like Juneau.
People traveling with animals are allowed to go to the car deck to walk and feed etc at scheduled times. If someone doesn't clean up after their dog, it will be announced on the loudspeaker. It was our first time riding a car elevator but getting on and off with a car was easy. Cost will depend on the size of your vehicle.